The capital was in a mess, and so was Tianjin.
Most of the officials in the city had fled, shops were closed, and businesses were dying. The people were in a panic. Many criminals took the opportunity to run amok, and some even used the name of the "Revolutionary Army" to bully and humiliate. When Zhou Qingfeng returned with his troops, there were even more opportunistic people who came to rely on him. Peddlers and pawns, down and out scholars, street thugs, and all sorts of people came.
The social situation in Tianjin was much more complicated than in Liaodong. Xu Bing only brought some people from the administrative department, which was completely unable to cope. Although she had many local spies sent by the Ministry of Security to screen, these people were often uneducated at the bottom of society. Most of them joined because of hatred, and they were lacking in practical ability.
Xu Bing was so busy that she could only rely on the Imperial Guard to maintain the security of the city. But how to clean up the scum in the city was not something she could do.
Zhou Qingfeng was busy expanding the army. The battle in Tongzhou made him famous, and Liu Da's retainers were swallowed by him. This batch of retainers numbered more than two thousand, and they had good physiques and were well trained. They were good soldiers. But their feudal thinking was more serious, and they had many bad habits that needed to be educated.
A large number of soldiers in the Ming Army who made a living as soldiers were also selected, and those with better qualities were incorporated into the trainers. In addition, there were young soldiers recruited from Tianjin, totaling six to seven thousand people. Therefore, it was necessary to set up a recruit training center in Tianjin to carry out standardized training. In addition, Zhou Qingfeng also planned to set up a naval training center in Tianjin, which was also a bunch of trivial matters.
Under such circumstances, he had to find someone capable to deal with the local evils. This person must be capable, familiar with the people, and preferably have relevant experience. Zhou Qingfeng looked at the personnel files in his hand, but he could not find such a person. He asked the Minister of Security, Wang Kunpeng, to recommend people to him, but Wang Kunpeng recommended a eunuch.
"Ma Ke Shi?" Naturally, Zhou Qingfeng still remembered this person. "You're the Ma Gonggong who scattered the huge pile of rations in Tongzhou, benefiting all the civil and military officials of the Great Ming Dynasty, but leaving me empty-handed? That guy is very stubborn and wants to be Daming's loyal subject. He should be in prison right now, right? "
Wang Kunpeng had been training for more than a year and had grown very quickly. He was very satisfied with his position, but he also knew his place. He knew that he did not sit in the position of Minister of Security because of his abilities. Otherwise, Fan Wan'er, who had defected from the White Lotus Society, would be several times more powerful than him. He relied on his diligence and loyalty to secure his position.
As long as Wang Kunpeng was a loyal minister, the important position of Minister of Security would definitely be his, and no one would be able to take it away. But if the Security Department could not work, no matter how loyal they were, it would be useless. Fan Wan'er became the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of State Security and made a name for herself in Shandong. This matter gave Wang Kunpeng great inspiration, so he had been thinking about how to find some capable subordinates to command.
"This Eunuch Ma is indeed loyal, but the Wanli Emperor he served suddenly passed away a few days ago. Maybe this can persuade him a little. " Wang Kunpeng said, "If this Eunuch Ma can come out and do something, just his status in the East Faction Guards would be enough to pull over many people from Daming's East Faction Guards and the Brocade Guards. These people are definitely qualified to deal with the City Fox and the Rat. "
Zhou Qingfeng pondered for a while, then nodded slightly and said, "According to the investigation, Ma Ke Shi is not too bad in other aspects other than being vicious and merciless when handling cases. Our 'Revolutionary Army' does not do anything to retaliate, so locking him up is not a problem. Go talk to him and allow him to return to the capital to see the limelight. I think this person does not have money but a good reputation. If he wants a reputation, I'll give it to him. "
Grand Marshal agreed, so Wang Kunpeng went to find Ma Ke Shi.
At this time, Eunuch Ma was counting lice in the prison in Tianjin. In Tongzhou, his cultivation was sealed by Ye Na and he became a useless person. He wanted to be loyal to the Emperor, but he was locked up by the traitors. These days, he had been on a hunger strike to show that he was not on the same side as the traitors.
In addition to Eunuch Ma, there were many Ming Army generals who were captured in the battle with the Imperial Guard in the prison. These people were all listless and listless all day. These days, the 'Revolutionary Army's' security department had been investigating the identities of these people. Low-ranking officers were often dragged away for re-education. Some of the high-ranking officers were executed, while others were called war criminals and sent to the Liaodong Peninsula for re-education.
Eunuch Ma did not have any friendship with these people. Every day, he sat alone and wondered if his life was worth it. If he thought too much, he would be in a daze.
"Qin Bangping, there's a letter for you." The temporary jailer of the Imperial Guard shouted outside the prison door.
Eunuch Ma raised his head slightly and saw a person about 50 years old standing in the opposite cell. He came from the East Faction and knew all the famous officials in the world. Just by hearing the name, he knew that this person was a chieftain general from Sichuan. For some reason, the traitors seemed to treat this person very well. They ate good food and drank well, and they were always polite.
The jailer opened the prison door and gave Qin Bangping a letter. He said, "The Grand Marshal has ordered that your body is fine. Since you are old and have not committed any major crimes, you will be transferred to the military history department of Jinzhou University to write your memoirs. "
Qin Bangping, who received the letter, was stunned. He had not figured out what 'writing memoirs' was before he was politely asked to leave by the jailer. These days, Eunuch Ma had seen several generals of the Ming Army being 'invited' to write their memoirs. Most of them were veteran generals in the Ming Army. This was especially true for those who had rich experience.
For example, the veteran general Liu Gu. This person had fought in Myanmar and quelled the rebellion of the chieftains in Yunnan. He had also been dismissed twice because of his greed and bribery. When Japan's Toyotomi Hideyoshi invaded Korea, he had also brought a few thousand soldiers from Sichuan to Korea to fight the Japanese twice. Later, he quelled the rebellion of Shean and finally surrendered after fighting with the traitors of the Revolutionary Army.
This person could be called a living fossil of the war history of the late Ming Dynasty. He had interacted with many civil and military officials of the Ming Dynasty. Zhou Qingfeng felt that it was a pity that he was not transferred to write his memoirs.
Liu Gu left, and so did Qin Bangping. Liu Gu's adopted son, Liu Zhaosun, was also captured on the battlefield. After a few days, he was also sent to Jinzhou to be reformed. The people in the prison came and went in the past few days. Only Eunuch Ma was still sitting still. He did not know how he was going to be dealt with. Occasionally, he was upset, but he also felt that he was lucky.
"Ma Ke II." The jailer shouted, waking Eunuch Ma who was sitting in the corner of the prison cell.
Eunuch Ma stood up unsteadily and found that the foreign ghost woman who had captured him before was also looking for him today. The jailer pushed him out of the prison cell. The foreign ghost woman stretched out her hand and pressed on his back, removing the meridian severing technique that was controlling his bones. This allowed him to recover his extraordinary cultivation.
"Why?" Eunuch Ma was puzzled.
However, the foreign ghost woman turned around and left after doing this. Another young man walked over with a straight face and said coldly, "Ma Ke Shi, I'm the security minister of the Revolutionary Army, Wang Kunpeng. Now, I'm officially asking on behalf of my Grand Marshal, do you have any intention of surrendering? "
Ma Ke Shi immediately laughed with a croaky voice and rejected happily in his heart, "I'm Daming's man when I'm alive, and I'm Daming's ghost when I'm dead. You guys underestimate me too much. Do you think that I'll change my mind after being locked up for a few days? If you want me to surrender, the sun and moon will lose their light and the stars will turn upside down. If you want to kill me, then kill me. I won't even frown. "
Eunuch Ma said it in a refreshed manner as if he had been repeating this line in his heart. He felt that it was a pity that there weren't many people in the prison. It was such a waste that no one knew about such a heroic thing.
However, the knife and axe he imagined did not appear. Wang Kunpeng moved sideways to make way and said to Eunuch Ma, "Since you're not willing to surrender, we won't make things difficult for you. You're not a war criminal, and you don't have any blood debts. You can leave now. You're free to come and go as you please. "
Let me go?
Eunuch Ma was even more puzzled. He was very suspicious and couldn't figure out what the other party was planning. However, he still walked out of the prison with his head held high. He thought that no matter what tricks this group of rebels used, he would face them calmly. However, no one made things difficult for him until he left the prison. The jailer even gave him five taels of silver as travel expenses and warned him not to do evil. Then, he left him alone.
There were people coming and going on the road outside the prison. Eunuch Ma was wearing tattered clothes and was in a daze. Let me go? There was definitely a conspiracy behind this. Hmph … I'll leave if I want to. Do you think I'll be afraid of your tricks?
Thinking that he could return to the Emperor's side and cry about his strange escape from the thieves' lair and his loyalty, Eunuch Ma couldn't help but feel a burning passion in his heart. He didn't stop at all and quickly left the city. Along the way, he was still on guard against pursuers. He tried his best to hide here and there, determined to fight with the rebels. However, the rebels didn't seem to care about him and really let him go.
Thus, the loyal and devoted Eunuch Ma went out at night and returned to Tong Province with the five taels of silver that the rebels gave him as travel expenses. He didn't even enter the city and continued in the direction of the capital from Tong Province. When he finally arrived at Chaoyang Gate in the capital, he saw two familiar people coming out of the city with sullen faces.
Eunuch Ma broke out of the prison and regained his freedom. He was very careful along the way, worried that he would be captured by the rebels again. When he arrived at the foot of the Emperor, he finally calmed down. When he saw the familiar people, he happily went up to greet them and shouted, "Hahaha … where are you two brats going? Why do you look so sullen? "
The ones who came out of the city were Ouyang Jun and Luo Lie. When they recognized Ma Keshi, they were stunned. Ouyang Jun asked in surprise, "Eunuch Ma, I heard that you surrendered to the rebels and became a high-ranking official. Why did you come back?" Luo Lie also asked, "Eunuch Ma, everyone in court is scolding you. They say that you are a traitor who is loyal and wicked beyond redemption."
Ma Keshi's thoughts changed and he immediately scolded, "So the rebels were so kind to let me out because of this. They must have spread the rumor that our family has surrendered, forcing our family into a dead end. It's a pity that we are not close. I have always been loyal to His Majesty. His Majesty will definitely understand that I have been wronged. It doesn't matter. As long as I enter the palace and see His Majesty, everything will naturally become clear. "
Ma Keshi said this with a smile on his face. He thought that he had already seen through the rebels' crafty tricks and had a countermeasure. But Ouyang Jun and Luo Lie didn't smile. Ouyang Jun said, "Eunuch Ma's loyalty to His Majesty is something that we both know. If we were to rank people according to their loyalty in court, Eunuch Ma would definitely be number one. "
This flattery made Ma Keshi feel embarrassed. He laughed wildly and waved his hand modestly, saying, "You can't take it seriously, you can't take it seriously. There are still loyal officials in court. I can't be considered number one."
But Luo Lie interrupted, "It's useless for us to know. His Majesty has no way of knowing."
Ah … Eunuch Ma frowned in confusion. He couldn't make heads or tails of it.
"The rebels wreaked havoc in the capital region. His Majesty became tired from worry and fell ill."
"Three days ago, His Majesty's illness worsened and he passed away in the Palace of Heavenly Purity."
"His Majesty returned to heaven. The court is in chaos. The palace is busy with the funeral."
"There isn't enough white cloth in the city. The two of us were sent out to other places to buy white cloth."
"Eunuch Ma, you really don't need to go back."
"Song Song: Director Of Ceremonies has already removed you from the list."
"There's no place for you in the East Faction Guards."
"Your reputation is bad, and no one will speak up for you."
"There are people who want to take your head to get promoted."
"Eunuch Ma, you should hurry and escape."
"It looks like it's quite easy to get along with the rebels. Why did you come back?"
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